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Saturday, December 30, 2000We left camp later today… about 8:00. It was cloudy and cool. I don’t think it rained on us last night but it sure was wet out on the plains. We went way off on the plains and didn’t see much to start with… just a couple of hyena and lots of storks. Ben and Ephata are good guides and we have enjoyed them. They just head somewhere else and we always end up with an adventure. We saw our first big herd of elephant in this park. Our laugh of the morning was elephant dung with sprouts in it. They eat 300 pounds a day but only digest 10% so it almost looks like grass on the other end. We went out to the airport strip (where we will be flying out). The writing is in white rock in the grass. We’ve seen a sea of zebra and a herd of Eland. They are shy and don’t stay around people long so you don’t get much viewing time. They are BIG and POWERFUL and move swiftly. We noticed one Eland behind the group torn between following and staying. We realized she had a baby and it couldn’t keep up. She held back a long time but finally the baby lay down and she went on. I had a hard time dealing with seeing that the rest of the day. It must have been brand new and I felt like we were responsible for the herd running off. It was the saddest moment of this safari for me. We spotted a cheetah not far from where we watched the Eland. It was hidden so well and hard to see. It had been feeding on an Impala. Lions have been scarce today. We heard them in front of the camp at bedtime and in the back of the camp this morning. I heard the hyenas all night but I never actually heard anything pass through camp. We did later come upon a male and female lion… they were the most perfect specimens we’ve seen. They were absolutely regal. Some have been nicked up and marked. We watched Wildebeest migrating awhile and watched a group of crowned cranes – they are at the top of the list of favorite birds. Often our two vehicles ride along parallel to each other with some space between us. Sometimes we split out for a bit. The guides have radio contact so if either vehicle sees something of interest the other can show up in just a few minutes. Maybe we’re catching more this way. Everybody seems pretty quiet this morning. I think the baby Eland has affected us all. It sure has me. We saw another solitary female lion and always beautiful birds. Lunch was back at camp before a little nap and then we were off again for the afternoon drive. We’ve seen more giraffe this afternoon. Watched a group of seven. We headed out a new direction from the late and saw a little river through a valley. I called it Hyena valley. We saw a couple huge Coke Hartebeest, lots of herons and some Rock Kestrel. We went through a high grassland marshy area in the riverbed. It was different from any area we’d seen before. We saw a pair of Lilac Breasted Rollers in a tree close to the road. They are so colorful. I hope we got their picture. We’ve spotted rainbows several days now. They seem to be an arc a little lower on the horizon than what we see at home. We headed back out to the plains and found more beautiful lions. It just seems they look really healthy here. They are such big and powerful looking animals but they are also a lazy bunch. They roll around on their backs and stretch and yawn. We watched one solitary male heading our way but keeping his distance as well. When they lay down they can almost disappear in the grass. Sometimes the only way you notice the cat is the tail bobbing up now and then. They stretch, roll, sleep – get up and move and then do that all over again. When the female moves 4 feet he’ll get up and follow her and do the same! We saw a Cape Teal on the lake. It was in the front of the car. The others located a cheetah and called us over. He was pretty skittish as they have all been but we got to watch a bit. When things got quiet we went back over to watch the lions some more. The single male we saw was moving in on the pair we had watched. It is real easy to just watch these guys for hours and hours! We got back to camp about 6:45 p.m. The fire was roaring and waiting for us. Tonight’s snack is potato fritters and they are WONDERFUL! We are like a pack of vultures when the basket comes out! Poor Andrew. He had wanted his shower tonight and the water was hot so he’s been down there. The group decided there’s a time to be pretty and a time to EAT so the basket was emptied. One must be here to protect their share! I found that out at breakfast one morning with the fresh pineapple! We’ve been amazed at our appetites and how we sleep. NO ONE has ever missed an opportunity to nap. Today we had a nice little break from 1:30 – 3:30 and we all passed out. They just brought out another basket and they served Andrew first. They KNEW he’d been left out and they’re taking care of him!! On our drive home from the lions this evening we drove through an area of trees that had been mowed over by elephants. They had been dead awhile but it was pretty interesting to see. The storks are fun to watch as they some in from the lake to nest in the trees around our camping area. They are flying in for a long time at dusk. I’m getting around a little better tonight. I had trouble moving after my nap! We’ve laughed about “better living through chemistry”. Aleve did it for me today. Dinner last night was by lantern instead of by candle. We have lanterns on each porch and one in the shower area in the back of each tent. The crew comes down just before dark and set them out. They stay lit all night. I think it’s a deterrent to animals for one thing. Tonight was a beautiful sunset. The sun on the clouds reflected on the water was really pretty. We enjoyed the ride along the creed in the new area and then coming home we were up on a flat plateau with a good view of the lake. We had seen giraffe heading out this morning and saw some coming home but they were on the other side of where we were again. It was a wonderful day in the Serengeti! Jane Wojecki
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Saturday, December 30, 2000 Did the 6:30 shower and breakfast. Some are showing up to breakfast later now. Only when you are early do you get the fresh pineapple. Camp rule is first come first serve. We took off for a new area. We stand up most of the day in the cruiser. I think that is why we feel so tired by the end of the day. There were not many animals to see but the area was real nice. We came across a large herd of Eland Antelopes. They were real wild and broke in a run as we approached. We saw a mother with newborn lagging behind. We did not move with the hope that the herd would stop and allow the new born to catch up, but the herd never stopped. The mother had to decide whether to stay behind with newborn or join the herd. She continued to trot off and left the newborn. The newborn laid down in the grass and was impossible to see. After the herd was long gone, we went by and say the newborn. We left the area with the hope the herd would return. We saw more lions on the way back to the camp. After lunch went to another new area. Again there were very few animals. We came across three lions of which two were honeymooning. It was interesting to watch the lions. The female was not in heat yet, but one of the males was staying close to be there when she did come in heat. We later saw a cheetah. We returned to the camp for dinner and talking about the day around the camp fire. The Hazels
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